John Sheridan (24 November 1933 – 13 November 2012) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at club level for

Lock Lane Lock Lane ARLFC are an amateur Rugby league Club in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Their home ground is the Hicksons Arena, part of the Lock Lane Sports Centre. The first team currently play in the National Conference Division One and the Acad ...

ARLFC, and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

(

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) ( Heritage № 382), as a , or , i.e. number 3 or 4, or 13., during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s,Andrew Howard (1 July 2000). "Images of Sport - Castleford Rugby League - A Twentieth Century History". The History Press Ltd. and coached at club level for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Honoured at Castleford Tigers

Sheridan is a

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

Hall of Fame Inductee. He joined

from local side

, choosing his home town club over Hunslet F.C. During the early part of his career he was a strong running who regularly topped the club's try scoring lists. After the 1958/59 season John moved into the pack, and took up the role. He was named captain as the club began to climb the league table in the early 1960s. Injuries took a toll, and he moved into coaching. From 1964 to 1982, Sheridan was "A" team coach at Castleford, winning nine

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Senior Championships, and six

Senior Cups. Sheridan was the

, his first game in charge was on 18 August 1972, and his last game in charge was on 2 May 1973, and then spent the following year at arch rivals

before returning to Wheldon Road. He returned to coaching at

, and turned the club around. He was voted the most influential person in the club's history by the Dons fans.

Background

Sheridan was born in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

, of Irish, and English parentage, and grew up in the Wheldon Lane area of

in a large

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family. As part of his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

for two years, mainly working as a bar man in the officers mess, and playing

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. Once back in

he signed for Castleford, and also worked in industry alongside his rugby league career.

Personal life

His marriage to Hilda (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hunter) (birth registered during second ¼ 1934 in

district) was registered in fourth ¼ 1957 in

district The couple had two daughters; Gail M. Sheridan (birth registered during first ¼ 1959 in

district), and Ann. Also grandfather to Thomas, Julieann, Charley, Nikki, Daniel, Kay and Bryony. Great-grandad to Bethany, Ruby and Hollie-Ann.

References

External links

Search for "Sheridan" at rugbyleagueproject.org

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Get well soon John!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, John 1933 births 2012 deaths Castleford Tigers captains Castleford Tigers coaches Castleford Tigers players Doncaster R.L.F.C. coaches English people of Irish descent English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Leeds Rhinos coaches Royal Air Force airmen Rugby league centres Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Pontefract